Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/421389
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 23 NOVEMBER 2014 18 News A report published by the United Nations' refugee agency has urged the Maltese government to sign trea- ties granting rights to 'stateless per- sons' and implement a system that recognises them. The United Nations defines state- less persons as "anyone who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law" – it is a status held by an estimated 10 mil- lion persons worldwide. The status is a virtual guarantee that the person affected will encoun- ter serious obstacles in accessing their fundamental rights and could, in a worst case scenario, result in re- patriation to a country which does not recognise them as a national. This would leave them with no per- manent residence status and related rights. The issue of stateless persons was highlighted in a report published last August by the UNHCR titled "Map- ping Statelessness in Malta", which sheds light on the shortcomings of Malta's legal framework regarding the issue. Shortcomings identified in the re- port include the fact that Malta is yet to sign the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and to the 1961 Convention on the Re- duction of Statelessness, the absence of a procedure for identifying state- less persons in Malta and the lack of a provision in domestic legislation to facilitate the naturalisation of these persons. It proposes a number of measures to deal with this problem, including ratifying the European Convention on Nationality and the setting up of an effective procedure to determine statelessness and ensure the identifi- cation of these persons, irrespective of whether they are lawful residents or not. It suggests that those claiming to be stateless could be granted a tem- porary residence permit while the process to determine statelessness is underway. It also advocates the affording to stateless persons simi- lar rights to those granted to asy- lum seekers, including a prohibition against returning stateless persons to country of origin. Highlighting the dangers of push- ing back stateless persons, it quotes an IOM report on one applicant for assisted voluntary return who was not recognised as a citizen by the country he claimed to originate from, leaving him 'stranded' in Mal- ta as a failed asylum seeker with no travel documentation, no chance to be naturalised and no other country which recognises him as a citizen. Citizenship loopholes Malta automatically grants citi- zenship to stateless children born in Malta, however, the report high- lights provisions in the Maltese Citizenship Act which currently still discriminate between children born in and out of wedlock for purposes of citizenship as particular areas of concern and recommends they be amended. As it currently stands, the Citizen- ship Act does not treat men and women equally when it comes to the conferral of nationality to their offspring and this is because the law still distinguishes between 'legiti- mate' and 'illegitimate' children. In fact, this law places a limitation on the acquisition of nationality by 'ille- gitimate' children of Maltese fathers, stipulating that "any reference to the father of a person shall, in relation to a person born out of wedlock and not legitimated, be construed as a refer- ence to the mother of that person." Effectively this means that a child born out of wedlock to a Maltese fa- ther and stateless mother will, unless Citizens of nowhere UNHCR report highlights shortcomings in Maltese law in its treatment of stateless persons Restricted in travelling or finding work outside of the camps, Rohingyas have opened small shops within their communities. Without citizenship, they have no legal rights to conduct business or own property. © Saiful Huq Omi